1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process and an associated device for managing the activating of a warning message in an aircraft.
2. Discussion of the Background
In an aircraft cockpit, different monitoring systems are in charge of emitting alert messages in case of detection of an abnormal situation.
Firstly, the system for monitoring flight conditions (“Flight Warning System” (FWS), “Flight Warning Computer” for flight alert computer or also “Flight Warning Application” for flight alert application) is an on-board system intended to forewarn the crew members of an abnormal situation concerning the airplane or a monitored system of the airplane.
The monitored systems may include detectors or calculators relating, for example, to the engines, to the fuel tanks or to the landing gears.
The system for monitoring flight conditions also emits automatic altitude announcements when the airplane passes through certain altitudes.
Furthermore, other monitoring systems have the function of forewarning the crew of risks related to the environment of the aircraft.
This is the case of the systems known as TAWS (“Terrain Awareness and Warning System” or warning and impact alert system), GPWS (“Ground Proximity Warning System” or ground proximity warning device), TCAS (“Traffic Collision Avoidance System” or on-board anti-collision system, also known as ACAS), WxR (“Weather Radio” or weather radar) and PWS (“Predictive Windshear System”, a shear prediction system).
It is possible to integrate several of the equipment items that monitor the environment of the aircraft in a single monitoring system, known, for example, as AESS (“Aircraft Environment Surveillance System” or aircraft environment monitoring system).
These different alert systems, whether their function is to monitor a system of the aircraft or of its environment, communicate with the pilot by alert messages, which may include the display of text messages on screens, the illumination of lamps and the emission of acoustic messages, such as voice syntheses or mixes of acoustic signals and voice syntheses known as “hybrids”.
The solution adopted until now to manage the activating of acoustic messages involved preliminary classification of alert conditions into two categories: high-priority alert conditions and normal-priority alert conditions.
In the event of detection of a high-priority alert condition by an alert system, emission of the corresponding warning message is activated immediately, and an information item according to which a high-priority warning message is in the course of emission is sent to all other alert systems.
In the event of detection of a normal-priority alert condition by an alert system, the emission of the corresponding warning message is activated immediately, except when a high-priority warning message is in the course of emission.